*Grumble...*
At the mention of food, Goku's stomach let out a thunderous roar. The battle from the previous night had drained a massive amount of his energy.
Combined with the fact that he'd slept through dinner and it was now breakfast time, he was beyond hungry—it was the kind of hunger that felt like his stomach was sticking to his spine.
"Thanks! Auntie, you really are a good person!"
'Such a simple, innocent kid,' Natasha thought, a brief flash of sympathy crossing her mind. But she didn't let it interfere with her mission. In her eyes, bringing him in was for his own safety anyway.
"Find some clothes that fit him, get more food—lots of it—and check with the search teams to see if anyone found a red staff or a stone ball," she commanded two nearby agents. She then led Goku into a large, temporary command tent.
"What's your name, kid? And how old are you?" she asked, pouring him a cup of water and handing him an oversized tactical jacket to cover his nakedness.
Goku downed the water in one go and replied politely, "My name is Son Goku. I'm twelve."
'A Chinese name, and he looks Asian. Matches my guess,' Natasha noted. She smiled warmly and continued her interrogation. "What was that Research Institute you mentioned? Are they bad people?"
"Yeah, really, really bad," Goku said. His eyes widened as an agent brought in a tray of fried chicken and burgers. He started inhaling the food immediately. "Auntie Gabriela said they do experiments on mutants and train kids to be killers. They were the ones chasing us."
'Mutant experiments... so the Great Ape and this kid are both mutants!'
Natasha was surprised, but not entirely shocked. Mutants had been off the radar for years, but their reappearance explained the "Great Ape" incident perfectly. As a top-tier S.H.I.E.L.D. agent, she had access to files on Level 4 mutants—beings with the potential to threaten the entire human race.
"Is there more?" Goku asked, his big, dark eyes looking up at her after clearing the tray in record time. He wasn't even five percent full yet. For some reason, he felt extra hungry today.
'He can eat... that was enough for two grown men,' Natasha thought. She signaled the agent. "Bring more. A lot more."
While waiting for the next round of food, she kept digging. "Do you know where the Institute is?"
If she could get the location, she could send Hawkeye immediately before they had a chance to pack up and vanish. It had already been eight hours since the ape disappeared; a smart organization would already be evacuating.
"I don't know. Only Auntie Gabriela knows," Goku said, shaking his head. If he knew where it was, he would have gone there to smash it himself already.
Natasha frowned slightly but remained patient. "You mentioned Auntie Gabriela. Who is she? Do you know where she is now?"
"She was a nurse at the Institute. she escaped with Laura and the others. We got separated. I was supposed to protect her and Laura while we looked for the other kids. But then the Institute attacked. That old man named Magneto was really strong! We fought for a long time, but then... I don't know why, I just fell asleep."
Goku tilted his head, still confused. Did that old man know the "Lullaby Punch" like Jackie Chun? Back at the World Martial Arts Tournament, Jackie Chun had used that move to put him to sleep instantly. "So, I don't know where Auntie Gabriela and the others are right now."
"Wait... you said Magneto was the one chasing you?" Natasha stood up abruptly, her face mask of disbelief.
S.H.I.E.L.D. records stated that Magneto died thirty-five years ago when Professor X's mind lost control.
"Yeah... Grandpa Professor and Uncle Logan called him that. But that Magneto guy said he wasn't Magneto. Magneto... what a weird name. Almost as weird as Bulma." Goku turned back to the new mountain of food the agent had just brought in and started the second round of his "battle."
'Professor X? Logan? This is getting way more complicated than a lab accident.'
While Goku was preoccupied with his meal, Natasha stepped outside the tent and dialed Nick Fury.
"Director, I have a priority intel update..."
"It all fits," Fury's voice came through the line, sounding remarkably composed. "John Garrett just reported in. He found a mole—a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent codenamed 'Stick-In-The-Mud' who was supposed to be monitoring Logan and the Professor. It looks like he was bought by Transigen and their head, Dr. Rice, to help with mutant gene experiments in a base near Juárez, Mexico."
"Natasha, I'm handing the Ape investigation over to Garrett. He's furious about the mole and wants to handle the arrests himself. I want you to take the boy, Son Goku, and head to Piñon. Our sensors picked up Logan and Professor X there. The Professor's condition is... unstable."
John Garrett was the regional director, and Fury didn't want to step on his toes, especially since it was his sub-station that produced the traitor. Natasha, however, had the psychological expertise and the "soft" touch needed to handle the aging X-Men and a strange child.
"Understood, Director."
Natasha had no complaints. She didn't work for money or power; she worked for S.H.I.E.L.D. to wipe the "red from her ledger"—a debt from her days in the Red Room.
She walked back into the tent and stopped in her tracks. The massive pile of food—enough high-calorie fuel to feed dozens of grown men—was gone.
Goku patted his stomach, looking a little more satisfied, though he still looked like he could go for dessert.
***
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